The dynamic between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds (ft. Renee DiResta)

We discuss the premise of Renee's new book ‘Invisible Rulers’. Her work also tends to focus on rumors, propaganda, and understanding how narratives spread across social media networks

Jules: Thanks for being here, Renee. I was introduced to your work through Destin, who's Smarter Every Day on YouTube and does amazing work himself. Some background for listeners, you're the former Technical Research Manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Your expertise is in online manipulation—so disinformation, harassment, and so on. Over recent years, which we're going to dive into today, you've dove deep into the dynamic between three key players that you believe everyone should have an understanding of, which are influencers, algorithms, and online crowds. They now shape our information environment and therefore our sense of reality.

My first question, just to paint the picture for everyone, is about distinguishing the difference between a typical user online and an influencer. I feel like the lines are increasingly blurred. More people are having public accounts, and with the interest graph recommendation algorithms, anyone can go viral overnight and become powerful in a moment. How do you make that distinction between the two? 

Renee: Some of it is pretty random, I think. The current meme is of course the Hawk Tuah girl, who as I recall now has representation and is doing podcast rounds. You never know what's going to do it.